AS Victoria’s only dairy herd to hold a Johnes Disease score 10, Rodney and Judy Pretty’s Holstein dispersal was always expected to attract buyers from far and wide.
And as it turned out, the sale failed to disappoint, with farmers from three states packed into the Warragul livestock selling centre on Friday morning.
Cattle were sold in Queensland, NSW and all dairying regions of Victoria, while the MN3 status cows also drew interest from Tasmania.
Dairy Livestock Services’ (DLS) auctioneer Brian Leslie said the sale received plenty of outstanding bids from northern buyers, because a JD score of eight and above is compulsory for cattle heading to Qld.
“There’s not a dairy herd in Victoria that boasts a higher score than this and that’s a great thing to have as we sell into world markets into the future,” Mr Leslie said.
“I doubt there’s been a sale in Warragul, where there have been two major Qld buyers and one central NSW buyer bidding against all regions of Victoria.”
The sale saw 109 cows sold to $3100 for an average of $2020.
And an even better result saw the Pretty’s 38 yearling heifers reach an exceptional $1800, which Mr Leslie believed was a record for 15 month-old commercial heifers. They averaged $1675 overall.
Mr Pretty, who farms at Jindivick, said he was “pleased” with the result, especially with the strong heifer rates.
Volume buyers, the McDowell brothers secured the entire line of unjoined heifers, which will eventually become a new addition to their 700-head milking herd at Allansford in south-west Victoria.
Other south-west buying support came from the Gleeson family, Crossley, who bought several cows to develop their herd, while Gippsland bidding was strong from Leongatha.
DLS’ Andrew Mackie said he put down over-the-phone bids for a Warwick-based farmer from Qld, who initially wanted 10 lots, but managed to secure eight cows to $2700, av $2500.
The other key Qld buyer purchased 11 lots, while a further NSW-based farmer from Forbes secured 20 cows altogether
